1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk cartridge and a disk driving device using the disk cartridge, and more particularly, to a disk cartridge, etc. for holding the disk cartridge stably on a cartridge compartment without impairing the external appearance of the disk cartridge and without increasing the size of the cartridge compartment more than needed, by providing a cartridge engaging recess or projection in or on at least one surface which constitutes a cutout recess formed in a cartridge housing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A disk driving device, such as a cartridge compartment loading type disk driving device, is known in prior art, in which a disk cartridge loaded in a cartridge compartment is drawn into the device.
In this type of disk driving device, it becomes necessary to hold a disk cartridge on a cartridge compartment in order to prevent upward and downward movement of the disk cartridge when vertically mounting the disk cartridge.
In the prior art disk cartridge, it has been proposed to provide a recess (a slot) in the rear part of the disk cartridge in order to hold the disk cartridge on the cartridge compartment by using the recess. FIG. 9 shows a disk cartridge 10 of this type.
The disk cartridge 10 is comprised of a cartridge housing 11, a photo-magnetic disk 12 rotatably housed in a disk housing chamber formed within the cartridge housing 11, and a slide shutter 14 for opening and closing a head access window 13 formed in the upper and lower surfaces of the cartridge housing 11. The head access window 13 in the upper surface is for the insertion and removal of a magnetic application head, and the head access window 13 in the lower surface is for the insertion and removal of an optical head and a turntable.
On the slide shutter 14 a slide guide member 15 is fixed, extending in the direction in which the shutter is closed, and between the slide guide member 15 and the cartridge housing 11 is disposed an unillustrated torsion coil spring for pressing the slide shutter 14 in the direction in which the shutter is closed. When the disk cartridge 10 loaded in the cartridge compartment is drawn into the body of the disk driving device as described later, the slide guide member 15 is pushed towards opening the shutter, thereby moving the slide shutter 14 to open the head access window 13.
In the side surfaces 16 and 17, on the rear face 18 side, of the cartridge housing 11, in a jukebox for example, cutout recesses 16a and 17a called gripper slots are provided for the purpose of facilitating the replacement of the disk cartridge 10. And in two places in both ends of the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11 are provided recesses 18a and 18b for cartridge engagement.
FIG. 10 shows a cartridge compartment 20 of a disk driving device in which the aforementioned disk cartridge 10 is loaded. The cartridge compartment 20 has a cartridge loading section 24 enclosed with rear plates 21a and 21b, a side surface plate 22a, a side surface plate 22b, and front plates 23a and 23b. The cartridge loading section 24 is provided with an opening 25 of specific width extending from the central part to the rear side. When the disk cartridge 10 is loaded in the cartridge loading section 24, the head access window 13 in the lower surface of the disk cartridge 10 faces the opening 25.
On the front plates 23a and 23b enclosing the cartridge loading section 24, cartridge holding claws 26a and 26b are provided, projecting towards the interior of the cartridge loading section 24. When the disk cartridge 10 is loaded in the cartridge loading section 24, the cartridge holding claws 26a and 26b are inserted in the recesses 18a and 18b provided in the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11.
At the center of the rear side of the cartridge loading section 24 the rear plates 21a and 21b are not provided, but a cartridge pushing mechanism 27 is provided in that part. The cartridge pushing mechanism 27 is composed of a U-shaped pushing member 28 and compression coil springs 30a and 30b mounted in the spring holders 29a and 29b provided on the front face side of the cartridge compartment 20. In this case, the two legs 28a and 28b of the pushing member 28 are inserted into the spring holders 29a and 29b through the openings 31a and 31b formed in one end side of the spring holders 29a and 29b, thus being held in contact with one end of the compression coil springs 30a and 30b.
The loading of the disk cartridge 10 to the cartridge loading section 24 of the aforesaid cartridge compartment 20 is carried out with the pushing member 28 moved to the rear side of the cartridge loading section 24, that is, with the compression coil springs 30a and 30b compressed. FIG. 11 shows the disk cartridge 10 as-loaded in the cartridge loading section 24. In this case, when the cartridge holding claws 26a and 26b provided on the front plates 23a and 23b of the cartridge compartment 20 are inserted in the recesses 18a and 18b formed in the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11, the front face of the cartridge housing 11 is pressed against the front face side of the cartridge loading section 24 by the pushing member 28 with a force of the compression coil springs 30a and 30b, thereby holding the disk cartridge 10 with stability in the cartridge loading section 24 of the cartridge compartment 20.
At the center of the front face side of the cartridge loading section 24 the front plates 23a and 23b are not provided. In this position there is provided a cutout recess 32. The cutout recess 32 is provided to facilitate the removal by a user of the disk cartridge 10 loaded in the cartridge loading section 24. The removal of the disk cartridge 10 is done by reversing the procedure of loading.
In the disk cartridge 10 in which the recesses 18a and 18b are provided in the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11 of the disk cartridge 10 as previously stated to thereby hold the disk cartridge 10 stably in the cartridge loading section 24 of the cartridge compartment 20 by using the recesses 18a and 18b, the cartridge holding claws 26a and 26b are protrusively provided towards the interior of the cartridge loading section 24 on the front plates 23a and 23b of the cartridge compartment 20. Therefore, to load the disk cartridge 10 on the cartridge compartment 20 of the disk driving device, first the user mounts the cartridge 10 on the cartridge loading section 24 while manually pushing the cartridge 10 in towards the rear against the spring force of the coil springs 30a and 30b. Subsequently, as the user takes his hand off the cartridge 10 while loading it on the cartridge loading section 24, the cartridge 10 is pressed towards the front by the spring force of the coil springs 30b and 30a, thus being moved towards the front. Therefore the cartridge holding claws 26a and 26b come into engagement with the recesses 18a and 18b provided in the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11, thereby mounting the cartridge 10 on the cartridge compartment 20.
It is, therefore, necessary to design the longitudinal length of the cartridge loading section 24 of the cartridge compartment 20 longer than the longitudinal length of the disk cartridge 10 by the amount of stroke through which the cartridge is moved by the spring force of the coil springs 30b and 30a. Thus the length of the cartridge compartment 20 will be increased in the longitudinal direction, with the result that the disk driving device body will become larger by that.
By the way, it is desirable that the disk driving device be built smaller because the device is mounted in other equipment such as a computer. However, in the photo-magnetic disk driving device of a magnetic modulation system, the magnetic application head and the optical head are linked in opposite positions in a U form so as to move simultaneously. Therefore there is provided a large space on the rear side of the disk driving device body. It is conceivable that the space at the front side of the disk driving device body is possibly restricted to reduce the size of the disk driving device body; it is, therefore, necessary to decrease the length in the longitudinal direction of the cartridge compartment on which the disk cartridge is mounted.
FIGS. 12 and 13 schematically show, in a photo-magnetic disk driving device 40, the magnetic application head and the optical head that have moved to the innermost and outermost peripheral positions of the photo-magnetic disk.
In the photo-magnetic disk driving device 40 a disk cartridge 50 is inserted. A photo-magnetic disk 52 is rotatably housed in the disk housing chamber of the cartridge housing 51 of the disk cartridge 50. In this case, the slide shutter 53 has been moved to open the head access window 54.
The optical head has a movable optical system 41 provided with an objective lens 41a, and a fixed optical system 42 provided with a semiconductor laser, a photo detector, etc., being formed as a separate optical system. Between the movable optical system 41 and the fixed optical system 42, the laser beam travels through a reflective mirror 43 disposed on the rear face side of the device body.
On the rear face side of the movable optical system 41 the base end of the head arm 44 is connected; and on the forward end of the head arm 44 a magnetic application head 45 is attached. The magnetic application head 45 and the optical head (the objective lens 41a) are oppositely linked in a U form so as to move simultaneously.
On both sides of the movable optical system 41 the coils 46, 46 are protrusively fixed. The coils 46, a center yoke 47, a magnet 48, and a side yoke 49 make up a linear motor, whereby the movable optical system 41 and the magnetic application head 45 are movable in the radial direction of the photo-magnetic disk 52.
As shown in FIG. 13, there is provided a large space on the rear face side of the device body so that the movement of the movable optical system 41 and the magnetic application head 45 will not be disturbed by the reflective mirror 43 or other.
Furthermore, in the device having the recesses 18a and 18b in the rear face 18 of the cartridge housing 11 of the disk cartridge 10, which is securely held in the cartridge loading section 24 of the cartridge compartment 20 by using the recesses 18a and 18b as described above, the recesses 18a and 18b are formed in the rear face 18 which constitutes the outermost shape of the disk cartridge 10, impairing the external appearance of the disk cartridge 10.